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Saxophone Research Paper

Decent Essays

Jon Guerra
Mr. Myers
Honors Band
03 October 2016
Saxophone
The saxophone, pronounced “sax·o·phone” (ˈsaksəˌfōn/), was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841 which was the year he had his first working model.
The History of the Inventor
The story and history of the invention of the saxophone is best understood by looking at the inventors (Adolphe Sax) lifelong achievements and goals throughout his life
The life of Adolphe Sax. Adolphe Sax, born November 6, 1814, in Dinant Belgium. The son of Belgium's chief instrument maker, his love and passion for music and instrument making came easy to him, the family craft easily learned, as all kin his skills and vision passed his fathers and thus born invention.
(1) At age 15, he created a clarinet and two …show more content…

His proud and arrogant nature of knowing mostly every instrument and overconfidence of nearly everything led to most conductors hating him; the only orchestral music that had the saxophone was written by Alphonse's friends.

The Saxophone in Military Bands Although Alphonse was Belgian, he had a love for French military bands. Military bands are used to imbue a sense of power and confidence, but the Frenches in particular during the 1800s sounded so weak that made people laugh.
Implication of the Saxophone in Military Bands: Having the French adopt the Saxophone in it’s military bands led Alphonse to riches and great praise by his peers. With nearly every nation's military band having the same problem, of being too weak sounding, other nations followed up on France's decision to adopt the instrument which led to the saxophone being in military bands around the world.
Music of Military Bands and its Effect on War: Military bands used throughout Americans revolutionary timeline to soldiers courage and pep to win waged wars. European countries using the bands for the same reason, to storm fronts with music to help them wage and win war.

The Saxophone and …show more content…

Saxophone in Jazz: While the saxophone was part of these ensembles in the early days, it was not what the saxophone is today. Today's saxophones stand out, they’re given solos, a time in the spotlight, while back in the day, the instrument was just part of the ensemble blending into it rather than standing out. Once key players started to bring the saxophone to it’s spotlight other players realized they could not keep up with the speed and the unique sound being produced. Despite never really making it big in the Orchestra world the saxophone has been successful in Jazz.
Key Players in the Jazz World: The early saxophonists that brought the saxophone to it’s rightful glory, such as Coleman Hawkins, an American jazz tenor player. While there was tenor players before Hawkins, the instrument was not recognized as a jazz instrument until he came along. Hawkins is strongly associated with swing music and had a big role in the development of Bebop in the 40’s. John William Coltrane, or “Trane” was another American jazz player and composer, his work in bebop and hard bop helped pioneer the use of modes in

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